According to Hill's reporting, 46 percent of parents are drawing from their current income, but that number is not exclusive to their income. Only 15 percent use the 529 College Savings plan, which is what Catey Hill calls "the gold standard". One would think that with all the promotion and emphasis on a college savings plan, more people would fall into this higher "gold standard", but that is not the case.

Hill attributes this to parents waiting too late to begin saving, or that they don't have the money to put towards a plan. Many parents expect their kids to earn a grant, scholarship, or take out a student loan. In fact, many more kids borrow funds than their parents. It would seem that parents leave the onus of borrowing student loans to their children.

Beyond that, the numbers and figures begin to get murky. The issue which prevails above all others is that parents are borrowing money in the wrong ways. They're either turning to their retirement funds, which ends up working against them in the long run, or their home equity loans.

For more, listen above to the full interview, or go to Catey Hill's article here.